Hantsavichy ( be, Ганцавічы, ), (russian: Ганцевичи, , pl, Hancewicze, lt, Gancevičai) is a city in the

Brest Region Brest Region or Brest Oblast or Brest Voblasts ( be, Брэ́сцкая во́бласць ''(Bresckaja vobłasć)''; russian: Бре́стская о́бласть (''Brestskaya Oblast)'') is one of the regions of Belarus. Its administrative cen ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

. It is the administrative center of the Hantsavichy District. The

Hantsavichy Radar Station Baranavichy Radar Station (russian: Узел «Барановичи») (sometimes wrongly named GantsavichyThe names vary as the station may be wrongly named after the nearby town of Hantsavichy, but with different transliterations depending on whe ...

() is a part of the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

early warning radar An early-warning radar is any radar system used primarily for the long-range detection of its targets, i.e., allowing defences to be alerted as ''early'' as possible before the intruder reaches its target, giving the air defences the maximum t ...

system.

Etymology

According to Belarusian toponymist Vadzim Žučkievič name "Hantsavichy" comes from surname Hantsavich.

History

Before World War II, 60% of the population was Jewish. In the 1920s and 1930s there were four synagogues, a Jewish library, an orphanage, a Tarbut school and school in Yiddish. Under Polish administration, in 1939, the town was retaken by the Soviets and annexed to the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. The German army arrived on June 29, 1941.

German occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

of Hantsavichy lasted until 7 July 1944. From June 30 to July 1, 1941, a pogrom occurred in which 16 Jews were murdered. On August 15, 1941, 350 Jewish men were executed in the forest 11 km away from Hantsavichy. 600 Jews were shot in the town's market place. During another action 1,000 Jewish men were taken to the forest 1 km away and shot dead. A concentration work camp was established in November 1941. Besides the local Jews, there were 230 Lenin Jews and 120 native to Pogost. Small executions of 70-150 Jews took place constantly. During one of those executions, 100 Jewish refugees from Warsaw, along with two local families, Fish and Zeiger, were executed and buried in the Peski ravine. On August 14, 1942, more than 300 Jews fled the camp and others were shot. In all, during the occupation, 3,500 Jews were murdered by the Nazis in the district of Hantsavichy, including 1,500 women and 850 children.

Population

* 1897 — 633 * 1909 — 1026 * 1970 — 5 200 * 1973 — 6 900 * 1991 — 14 500 * 2006 — 14 700 * 2008 — 14 800 * 2015 - 14 043Statistical Bulletin «Численность населения на 1 января 2015 г. и среднегодовая численность населения за 2014 год по Республике Беларусь в разрезе областей, районов, городов, поселков городского типа».
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Education

There are 3 schools, 1 gymnasium, agricultural lyceum and a special boarding school in Hancavičy.

References

External links

Photos on Radzima.org
Cities in Belarus Populated places in Brest Region Brest Litovsk Voivodeship Slutsky Uyezd Polesie Voivodeship Holocaust locations in Belarus Hantsavichy District {{Belarus-geo-stub